


the flame tycoon

by bazzaya



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Battle Frontier, Edelthea Secret Valentines Exchange (Fire Emblem), F/F, Pokemon AU, Pokemon Contests
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:35:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22965517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bazzaya/pseuds/bazzaya
Summary: Battle Frontier Brain Edelgard thinks she knows it all when it comes to Pokémon battles, especially after she falls out of love with it because of a lack of interesting challengers.. Very little could restore her passion—that is, until she happens to watch a Pokémon Contest and sees the rising Coordinator Dorothea Arnault in action.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41
Collections: 2020 Edelthea Secret Valentines Exchange





	the flame tycoon

**Author's Note:**

> this is a gift for troubledtaro on twitter! originally i was going to just have it end as it is in this part, but as i reached the end i realized i had grown really interested in this kind of universe, so i'm going to expand upon it. the gift that keeps on giving ;)

Not even watching the matches on TV can bring back her drive.

Ferdinand first suggests the idea to her. _Your skill is unmatched, Edelgard!_ he says, _If you find that few people can give you that spark of energy in battle, perhaps you need to view a match outside of your own mind_ — _and see how others do it!_

Edelgard doesn’t know why she thought his advice might work, but maybe she hoped that it would. The challengers who rise through the Battle Frontier to face her somehow never give her a battle exciting enough for her anymore, and battling has become a chore because of it. It’s like she barely has to think to win, and that lack of excitement from a new challenge takes the thrill out of battle. 

So maybe she even thought examining battles from an outsider’s view, trying to understand the tactics of others and learning them for herself, would help her. But it doesn’t, and Edelgard finds her mind wandering as she watches the battles, finding every move predictable, and finding little innovative about their battling techniques.

Now every battle is so painfully dull to her, and she hates nothing more than that boredom with it all. Her greatest passion has turned into her most loathed part of the day whenever challengers reach her. She yearns for the battle to be over more than she desires the action within it.

Her friends offer her with one last idea, hoping that this can reignite that love for battling and Pokémon that used to burn so brightly. It’s something completely different than Edelgard’s experienced before, and she can barely say she’s heard of it. Yet Edelgard still allows herself to give it a chance, even if she doesn’t allow her hopes to rise.

It’s that willingness to go out on one final limb that brings Edelgard, the face of her region’s Battle Frontier, to a contest hall, seated in the second level, mixed and lost within the crowds of the enthused audience. She’s almost faceless to a degree, unrecognized in this sphere of Pokémon events, and it lets her feel as if she’s any regular person, unchained from her reputation. It’s a hint of a relief, like she can experience something now with fresher eyes, not as weighed down by that other persona she must inhabit.

Edelgard shifts in her chair and watches as the Pokémon Contest begins.

She doesn’t quite know the rules, though she’s able to gather at the beginning that the contest starts with the contestants with a single Pokémon, working together to dazzle the audience. True, Edelgard can’t say she’s seen a Pokémon’s moves used like this before, but she doesn’t find much use to the “dazzling” factor to do anything more than appreciate the creativity behind the Coordinators’ moves.

After a few contestants, Edelgard accidentally overhears a hushed conversation from someone behind her.

“I hear Dorothea Arnault is registered to compete in this contest,” one of the girls says excitedly.

“Oh, right!” the other girl says. “Isn’t she almost on her fifth Ribbon to take part in the Grand Festival?” 

“I think this is going to be her fourth,” the first girl says again. “That is—if she wins!”

Edelgard finds that she’s turned her head to eavesdrop on their conversation, and once the two girls laugh and quiet themselves again, Edelgard turns her head fully toward the stage, an eyebrow raised. She’s been listening to the announcer give names as the Coordinators come out to perform, but none of them have really stuck to her—though she would remember a name like Dorothea if she had heard it already. She supposes she’ll just see who this popular star is, her interest slightly piqued by the gossip behind her.

It takes a few more contestants to perform before Edelgard hears that name from the announcer, and admittedly, Edelgard leans forward slightly in her chair, lifting her chin to see better over the heads of the people in front of her. She’s able to see as a woman walks out on stage in a large black and red gown and with brown hair of bountiful curls, a Pokéball in one hand and a microphone in the other. Edelgard’s eyebrow arches higher at the sight of the microphone, intrigued, and that intrigue only grows when she can hear music begin to play.

With a carefully timed throw, Dorothea calls forth her Lopunny, who lands in a pose that mirrors Dorothea’s own in that very moment. Dorothea then brings the microphone to her lips, and to Edelgard’s surprise, begins to sing a slow, jazzy tune.

Lopunny’s arms become shrouded in flames, which Edelgard assumes to be because of the move Fire Punch, and Lopunny dances in slow, deliberate steps to the music, using the flames as it dances. Before Edelgard knows it, she’s not only put in a trance by the hypnotic motion of the fire around Lopunny’s paws, but she’s enthralled by Dorothea’s voice too. Every other contestant that night either stepped back to allow their Pokémon to take center stage or used high-energy performances to wow the audience, but there’s something different about the way Dorothea and her Lopunny working in tandem in a performance so uniquely choreographed and with a tone so different than everything else she’s seen so far that night.

Just when Edelgard finds herself caught up within the performance, the song draws out to a close, and everyone around her, especially the two girls behind her, erupts into cheers and applause. Edelgard blinks, watching Dorothea and Lopunny humbly bow before exiting the stage, and Edelgard drops her hand from where it rested under her chin.

“‘ _If_ she wins,’” the one girl repeats to mock the other. “She totally will! She’s gathered her first three Ribbons faster than anyone else—she doesn’t lose for a reason!”

Edelgard furrows her brow pensively as she overhears that information, returning her gaze to the stage as the scoreboard updates to reflect the most recent performance. She sees the woman currently holding first place drop down a rank as Dorothea’s placard rises to the top, leading by a considerable margin. 

Edelgard doesn’t quite know what she’s walked into, apparently in the presence of the newest rising Coordinator, but there’s one thing unmistakeable about what she saw.

For the first time in a while, Edelgard’s found something in a Pokémon showcase that’s impressed her, and after Dorothea walks away with the victory and the Contest draws to an end, Edelgard lets her hopes rise a little, leaving knowing a little more than what she did going in.

* * *

The second time Edelgard goes to a Pokémon Contest, she’s visiting her home city for the weekend, needing a break from the dull battles from the Frontier challengers that’ve plagued her week. She sees how there’s a Contest being held in the city that weekend, and perhaps on limb, she decides to go again. She can admit there’s something new to the way Coordinators use a Pokémon’s talents that she’s never seen before, and that at the very least is interesting to her. There are worse ways she could be spending her weekend.

When Edelgard enters the contest hall and tries to buy a ticket, the receptionist recognizes her almost immediately, though Edelgard’s thankful he doesn’t make too big of a deal about it.

“Prominent Trainers are able to sit in exclusive box seating over the stage,” the receptionist says. “Shall I reserve you one?”

“That’s hardly necessary,” Edelgard replies with a soft sigh.

“I insist,” he says. “The Battle Frontier’s Flame Tycoon deserves accommodations in her native city.”

Edelgard shakes her head. “Just one ticket in regular seating, please.”

The receptionist takes the hint the second time, nodding his head and printing out a ticket for her. “Section 108, Row 9.”

Edelgard says a quick ‘thank you’ after she finishes paying, and she heads into the seating area. Her seat isn’t too hard to find, and it immerses her with the rest of the packed crowds around her as well. It doesn’t take long for the Contest to begin after that, 

The first round catches Edelgard’s interest slightly more than the previous time she’s watched a Contest—mostly because she understands the premise a little better, and the Coordinators this time around seem to be of a higher caliber than the one she last saw. Considering the size of the arena and the size of her city, Edelgard isn’t surprised that this event is more popular and sports bigger names than the last Contest. 

Edelgard crosses her legs and watches the stage curiously when that Dorothea appears for her first round performance. Instead of a Lopunny, Dorothea summons a Pachirisu for her performance. The majority of her stage relies on setting a beautiful backdrop for Pachirisu to pose in front of with clever uses of Pachirisu’s moves; Iron Tail to split an Electro Ball to adorn the stage with stray sparks, and Thunder on numerous Swift stars in the air to give every star an added flair. Edelgard’s gaze drifts to the judge’s table in the midst of the performance, and Edelgard can tell how pleased they are.

The first round draws to a close shortly after that, and before the second round tournament begins, the announcer brings all the qualifying contestants out on the stage in a line. Edelgard glances away for a moment, no longer having any action to watch, though she still vaguely listens to what the announcer is saying as he speaks to some of the contestants.

“It seems that we have a few special faces in the audience tonight,” the announcer says slyly, moving along the line of Coordinators. “Why, even the Flame Tycoon herself is among us!”

Edelgard’s eyes widen briefly in surprise to hear her title, and as she spots a glimpse of herself on the large screen over the stage, she leans back in her chair and uses one hand to shield part of her face. She doesn’t know how others learned of her presence, but she curses whoever decided showcasing her would be a good idea.

“Surprises come everyday. I had no idea the Flame Tycoon was even remotely interested in Pokémon Contests!” the announcer laughs to himself. He glances over at the nearest Coordinator—Dorothea, it just so happens to be—and stops to ask her something. “Tell me, Miss Arnault—it seems as if some big names are in the audience tonight. Does this impact the way you’ll perform tonight?”

Edelgard lowers her hand and looks back at the stage. She can see a close-up of Dorothea’s face on the screen above the stage, and there Edelgard can clearly see how Dorothea’s eyes are trained on her, and how Dorothea sports a polite, yet assured grin. 

“I set out tonight to captivate the hearts of every member of this audience,” Dorothea says playfully, turning her gaze back to the announcer after a moment. “Battle Frontier Brains are by no means excluded from that.”

“Exquisite answer!” The announcer says, and Edelgard sinks down deeper into her seat with a low grumble. 

The announcer walks his way down the line again, and declares that the second round will soon begin. Edelgard lets out a breath of relief, knowing that the spotlight will go back on the Coordinators instead of her. The second round also marks the battle portion, so that’s something else Edelgard has to look forward to to get her mind off that embarrassing episode earlier.

As expected, Dorothea rises to the finals of the battle round, competing against another Coordinator for the Ribbon. Her opponent sends out a Lucario, and Dorothea calls forth her Staravia. Edelgard cannot blame her for wanting the type advantage after she’s seen the way her opponent Felix fought in the previous rounds, though she wonders to herself if the type advantage will be enough for a Pokémon as strong as that Lucario.

Lucario is able to deal more damage to Staravia, though Staravia is able to hold its own against it long enough to wear down the time remaining on the clock. Staravia also has more performance points in its favor compared to Lucario’s, mostly thanks to Dorothea’s quick thinking and better charisma. As it stands, despite being the stronger Pokémon, Lucario still is on its way to lose if the match ends without anyone fainting due to its lack of points.

Felix, not wanting this outcome, looks to end the match quickly through a knock-out. “End this with Aura Sphere!”

Lucario gathers blue energy in its palm and launches it towards Staravia in the form of a large sphere. With its speed, Dorothea has to act quick, so she issues the first idea that comes to mind.

“Razor Wind!” Dorothea says, striking a pose by holding onto the edge of her hat and angling it downward.

Staravia uses its wings to send powerful currents of air Lucario’s way, catching the Aura Sphere and robbing it of its momentum. Soon the Aura Sphere is pushed back in the opposite direction, catching Lucario by surprise and exploding on contact. When the smoke clears, Lucario is fainted on the ground from the super-effective hit.

Edelgard’s eyebrows raise, both surprised and impressed by the tactic. Everyone around her cheers for Dorothea’s victory, though Edelgard doesn’t join in immediately, still stunned. She gradually comes to clap once the surprise wears away, especially when Dorothea is awarded with the Ribbon. Edelgard watches Dorothea on the big screen, and she catches how Dorothea’s gaze wanders around, though remains fixed at one point to a particular spot in the audience. Edelgard lingers for a moment, though as the people around her start filing out of the seats, Edelgard stands up to follow suit.

As Edelgard walks through the lobby of the building as she makes her exit, she’s stopped by the voice of that receptionist from before.

“Miss Edelgard!” the receptionist calls out for her, causing Edelgard to stop and turn his way. “Someone wishes to meet with you.”

Edelgard straightens her posture. “I’m sure many do, especially after that announcer made my presence known. I don’t have time to meet with absolutely everyone.”

“It’s one of the Coordinators,” the receptionist clarifies. “The victor—Dorothea Arnault wishes to see you.”

Edelgard raises an eyebrow, her stance and expression relaxing. It surprises her that a Coordinator would want to see her, and to have it be Dorothea, no less. It’s a little shameful how that’s all Edelgard needs to hear to change her mind, willing to meet with someone. “I don’t see why not.”

The receptionist nods his head and gestures Edelgard forth. “Right this way. She should be waiting inside her dressing room.”

Edelgard finds herself straightening her back again, swallowing at that information. A wave of unease shoots through her at the thought of being in someone else’s dressing room, though she tries not to show it. Instead, she wordlessly follows the receptionist and is led to the room in question. 

After the receptionist knocks and Dorothea answers the door, Edelgard clears her throat and composes herself, not letting that apprehension from earlier show.

“You came,” Dorothea says, her surprise not at all hidden, yet still overshadowed by the smile that appears upon her lips. That hat she was wearing is gone, yet her hair and her strong stage make-up haven’t been touched yet. “Please, come in!”

The receptionist makes his leave, and Edelgard steps inside at Dorothea’s insistence, flashing a courteous smile. “Congratulations,” Edelgard says. “Another great victory.”

Dorothea smiles, and Edelgard can tell it’s not that same smile from the stage. “Thank you! That means a lot, coming from someone like you,” she says appreciatively. “I never thought a Frontier Tycoon would come out to watch a Contest… Do you normally attend them?”

Edelgard draws in a breath, masking it with a smile. “Truthfully, no. This is only my second. I never truly expected to watch another, though I suppose being in the city for the weekend and moderately enjoying my first Contest was enough to bring me here tonight.”

Dorothea nods along as Edelgard speaks. “Ah, I see. Was that last Concert a recent one?”

“Yes, only a few weeks ago,” Edelgard says, glancing away for a moment. “It was one you were in as well, actually—it was your last victory.”

“Oh!” Dorothea’s smile widens to hear that. “I hope my performances were to your liking, then!”

Edelgard nods, bringing herself to grin as well. “Your victory tonight was especially impressive in terms of tactics and presentation, even down to the pose you struck as you gave the game-winning command.”

Dorothea laughs in response, more sheepish than Edelgard expects from a mere compliment as the one she gave. “Oh, that?” Dorothea waves that off dismissively, laughing still. “I was just ensuring that my hat didn’t blow away in the wind!”

Now Edelgard finds herself to be the one laughing sheepishly, lowering her gaze to the ground for a moment from a momentary wave of embarrassment. “Ah… Well, it had enough flair to pass off as something deliberate.”

“It’s good to know I carry enough theatrics in my every move to look charming even when I don’t intend to,” Dorothea laughs again, and for a moment Edelgard realizes the contrast between that stage personality and the one she’s seeing now; despite being a performer, it doesn’t feel at all like Dorothea is as full of herself as her stage appearance would lead one to believe.

Edelgard settles into a smile, catching Dorothea’s eye once she stops laughing. A beat passes in silence, and Dorothea speaks up before Edelgard can even try.

“I’m sorry to take up your time like this. Part of me just couldn’t believe a Frontier Brain could actually be here, so I had to see for my own eyes!” Dorothea says. She extends her hand and bows her head politely. “Thank you for coming out to watch tonight’s Contest and for agreeing to see me!”

Edelgard looks down at Dorothea’s hand and takes it for a handshake, lifting her eyes to meet Dorothea’s own and flashing a smile. “Of course. Congratulations again. It’s the Grand Festival after this for you, correct?”  
  
Dorothea nods. “Yes, but the Grand Festival isn’t for a few months. It only runs once every year.”

“I see,” Edelgard says, but she doesn’t miss a beat. “Best of luck then, when the time comes around.”

“Thank you!” Dorothea smiles—a bright and honest smile, one that even makes her close her eyes from its size.

Just the sight of it makes Edelgard feel in higher spirits as she leaves the room, a remnant of a smile on her own lips when she heads home for the night.

* * *

A week or so down the line, Edelgard is up against another challenger, seated at her side of the battlefield as her Houndoom stands on the battlefield. Houndoom’s already taken down two of the opponent’s three Pokémon, whereas none of Edelgard’s have fallen yet. Edelgard watches the battlefield with a dull gaze, disinterested in the match.

The opponent’s last Pokémon is a Machamp, already looking worse for wear. Granted, Houndoom isn’t at its best shape either, having fought against three Pokémon consecutively before now. A few hits to either Pokémon would surely do it in—all that matters is which Pokémon lands the hit first.

“Machamp, Brick Break, on the ground!” The Trainer shouts, and Machamp follows. 

Machamp’s two right fists glow white and it punches the ground, causing a large tremor and demolishing the rock flooring significantly. Houndoom lowers itself to the ground from the tremor as to not lose its balance, and it growls at Machamp in retaliation.

Edelgard raises an eyebrow, but only dryly, confused at what the young Trainer is attempting to pull off. She doesn’t even take the initiative to order another move—instead, she just watches, bored and puzzled.

“Now, pick up the debris and throw it at Houndoom!”

Edelgard narrows her eyes from annoyance, though Machamp works surprisingly quickly at heaving a large slab of debris from the cracked ground into its four hands. Edelgard sits up a little straighter, slightly concerned, but an idea shoots through her mind as she sees Machamp about to launch the debris.

“Fire Spin,” Edelgard orders. “Launch it back.”

Houndoom stirs up a large vortex of flames that catches the debris, spins it around, and throws it back at Machamp. The unwitting Machamp has no time to move out of the way, resulting in a direct collision that knocks it down, and it starts to struggle to get back up.

“Inferno,” Edelgard says, capitalizing on the opening.

Houndoom unleashes a raging blaze of flames upon Machamp, causing a large explosion to engulf Machamp’s side of the battlefield. When the fire clears, Machamp is down for the count. Edelgard isn’t fazed, and she stands up from where she’s sitting. She shakes the challenger’s hand, congratulates him on a hard-fought battle, and sees him out of the Battle Facility. 

Edelgard lets out a breath. Normally, she feels mentally drained after a battle, and while she still feels a little tired, it isn’t hitting her as hard as it normally would. There was a moment of intrigue that crossed her mind during the battle—something she hasn’t felt in a long time—and because of it, she doesn’t feel as exhausted.

When the aid to the Frontier enters Edelgard’s chamber, however, that exhaustion hits her immediately.

“Another?” Edelgard asks in disbelief.

The aid shakes his head. “Not a challenger, no, but there is someone here who wishes to see you.”

Edelgard raises an eyebrow. “A visitor? Who is it?”

“She said she’s an acquaintance of yours,” the aid says. “She’s waiting in the facility lobby for you.”

That still doesn’t satisfy Edelgard’s curiosity. Still, she cannot really object, especially when she’s still curious about who could be visiting her.

She joins the aid in walking to the facility lobby, and her eyes widen slightly when she finds a familiar face standing by the doors. Her brown hair is still wavy, but not done in those same tight curls as they were on stage. Her makeup is much lighter as well, and Edelgard almost barely recognizes her.

“Dorothea?” Edelgard asks, confused.

“Hey,” Dorothea breathes out, a nervous smile curving her lips. “Sorry, I bet this is unexpected—”

“But not unwelcome,” Edelgard adds to reassure her. “What brings you here?”

“I…had a request of you,” Dorothea says after a second’s pause. When Edelgard raises her eyebrows and invites her to speak more, Dorothea takes another pause before hurriedly saying, “Can I train with you?”

Edelgard blinks from surprise at that sort of request, and apparently Dorothea takes that silence as hesitation.

“It’s just, I don’t get to practice battling— _real_ battling—often,” Dorothea stammers, uncertain. “You’re the real deal. Hell, you’re the Flame Tycoon, for goodness’ sake—I just thought that maybe, maybe somehow you’ll be able to help me.”

Edelgard’s surprise at Dorothea’s words only grows, with her eyes widening slightly. She speaks before she can even fully grasp what it is she wants to say. “You’re skilled enough as is, I don’t know what all else I can do to help with that.”

“The Grand Festival is in a few months, and I’m afraid that my team won’t be strong enough when it matters and that I won’t be able to strategize enough to compensate for that,” Dorothea says, and her worry is beyond palpable for Edelgard to pick up on. “If…If you say no, I understand, but… I thought someone like you might just be what I need to make me strong enough.”

Edelgard opens her mouth to respond, and her words fail her, and her mind somehow still cannot race quickly enough to come to a decision. She has no idea how Dorothea could possibly think of herself as inferior when that is not at all what Edelgard’s seen in her performances, and she has no idea what she could possibly have to offer.

But her mind weighs the other side of things, as well. Edelgard is fully aware how that slightest bit of excitement during her match earlier was because of her adapting a move she’s seen Dorothea use in battle. There’s something about Dorothea’s mind and her different way of strategizing—a mixture of cunning and flair—that is unlike anything Edelgard’s ever seen before. For one, there was a light during Edelgard’s battles, a light Edelgard thought was extinguished forever.

And Dorothea was the one to illuminate Edelgard’s eyes. That much, Edelgard knows full well.

Maybe Dorothea won’t be the only one learning something from this. Maybe now Edelgard can finally bring back that light to her battles, already feeling the faintest hint of anticipation rising within her, a feeling so forgotten it feels almost foreign to her.

Edelgard reaches her answer, and she manages to flash Dorothea a smile.

“Then let us see what we can do together.”


End file.
